Underserved school districts are feeling the benefits of a nearly $687 million yearly increase in public education.

SCRANTON, Pa. — What is now a colorful room filled with stacked bookshelves was once an empty classroom with no books to fill it.

At Neil Armstrong Elementary School in Scranton, making books more accessible to students is just one of the many things teachers have had the opportunity to do after an increase in overall funding for Pennsylvania schools by $11.85 billion over the span of three years.



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The increase will specifically serve historically underfunded areas such as the Scranton School District.

Erin Keating, Scranton School District Superintendent, says, “We had to do more with less, and I don’t know if people understand what that means, but what it means is that programs disappear, opportunities for children go away, and educators are expected to stretch and stretch and stretch.”

Superintendent Keating says with more funding available; the school district is already seeing an impact. The district hired eight new STEM teachers for grades K through four. At Neil Armstrong Elementary School, new autism support classes were added to the curriculum.

These additions, officials say, other school districts might not need to fight for.

“Zip code should never determine the education offerings for a student, and the investments that have been made in public education have allowed that to start to become a reality,” said Keating.

“Graduation rates are up 3%. We’re seeing math and PSSA scores rise here, and that’s indicative of I think the kind of success we’re seeing across Pennsylvania,” said Governor Shapiro.

Jennifer Telsco, president of the Scranton Federation of Teachers, says, “To see us making some gains, both to financially support our schools and reflecting in our academics, and how successful we’re setting our students and our families up and our Commonwealth communities it’s incredibly encouraging.”

District leaders say these investments provide every student with a stronger foundation for a brighter future.